Welcome to CrossCurrents!

This monthly communication is intended to keep you informed about significant happenings and initiatives.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome – please forward them to communications@uucwc.org.

Remembering Without Silence

Rev. Kim Wildszewski

In October of this year the Rev. Julie Denny-Hughes died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 70. She served congregations in Richmond VA, Raleigh NC, Palatine IL, and Halifax Nova Scotia before retiring in her hometown in Indiana. You may remember seeing this announcement in our Tuesday Caring Emails. Julie was a member of UUCWC many years ago and it was here that she first found her call to congregational ministry.

There were a lot of emails written and considered the week Julie died. Emails between congregants here at UUCWC and me; past ministers of our congregation; and even folks from the UUA. Julie was the wife of Peter Jenkins, the minister who, in the late 1980s abused his power and authority, his ministerial credentialing, and worst of all made victims of congregants at UUCWC by way of sexual abuse and manipulation. Read more here…

Dive Deeper!

Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Religious Education

Now available to everyone – monthly Soul Matters theme packets
This fall I started facilitating a Chalice Circle. As I prepared for our circle by reading through the Soul Matters monthly packet on the theme, I found myself connecting with the theme on a much deeper level. It was so enriching! It led me to deeper personal learning, the kind of learning I belong to a church to receive and the kind of deepening my soul longs for in these uncertain times. Kim preaches great sermons on the monthly theme, but I think you are missing out by not further reflecting on the theme during the week. Starting in November, we are offering the Soul Matters Packet to the entire congregation! Read more here…

Robin Pugh, Director of Lifespan Religious Education, can be reached at dre@uucwc.org.

From your Board of Trustees

Board To Hire Capital Campaign Consultant

Michael Dalzell, Secretary, UUCWC Board of Trustees

Dream big.

At this summer’s Board of Trustees retreat, we asked ourselves: What should UUCWC be about as a faith community? And how should our goals for this year reflect that? One of the goals we enthusiastically agreed to pursue was to move forward with planning for a capital campaign.

This month, we reached the first milestone in the planning process — settling on a consultant who, when the paperwork is complete, will provide expertise and guide us through the initial stages of a capital campaign. Read more…

Contact any member of the board, or board@uucwc.org with your comments, questions, and/or concerns.

Council for Faith in Action:

UUCWC’s Racial Justice Initiative Update

Sallie Dunner, Chair, Council for Faith in Action

What is current status of UUCWC’s Racial Justice Initiative? The election of Donald Trump opens a far wider conversation than when the Council for Faith Action initiated the information sessions and discussions about Black Lives Matter and racial justice. America’s deep history of racism and anti-Semitism, along with the newer hatreds of immigrants and Muslims, has now been fully exposed, challenging us as never before. We are evaluating, with input from Rev. Kim, what we think the next steps should be. We have a number of ideas about how we can best put our faith into action and will keep you fully informed as we move forward. We must come together with increased energy and CFA will be actively working to provide support to congregants interested in various areas of justice and activism. Read more…

Dates to Remember

November 27
One service at 10am

December 11
Holiday Plant Sale

Festival of Fine Crafts
& Bake Sale
Dec 3, 10am-4pm
at UUCWC

Over 30 artists, crafters and gourmet food vendors!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: For help with parking, greeting, baking, setup/take down, etc. RAFFLE BASKETS: We are collecting items for raffle baskets. If you have items to donate, please contact us at craftshow@uucwc.org.

(All proceeds from baskets, vendor fees, some crafters go to UUCWC.)

Rev. Kim’s Statement to the Imam of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey

From Rev. Kim:

In light of the Presidential Election results, please find the following statement written to the Imam of the Islamic Society of Central Jersey. Additional letters of solidarity from me, the children of UUCWC and our adults will continue in the weeks to follow. If you would like to be a part of this effort please contact me by email.

Read Rev. Kim’s message, and find opportunities for your involvement, here…

Temporarily Parked

You may be wondering about the status of our proposed expanded parking project, which will address adding new parking and improving conditions along the driveway which deteriorate in bad weather. Creating and improving additional parking is a long and complex process requiring approval from several agencies. Here’s a timeline of what has happened to date and where we stand now.

Read more here…

Urgent! We need “crafters” for the annual Homefront UUCWC Holiday craft workshop on Dec. 2. Ten stations with different simple holiday crafts will be set up for kids to make as presents for their families. We need more people to host a craft table. Robin has simple craft ideas. For more information or to sign up please email Robin, dre@uucwc.org